'I'll Be Ready!' Dan Quinn Leaving Dallas Cowboys? Coach Addresses Hiring Rumors

'I'll Be Ready!' Dan Quinn Leaving Dallas Cowboys for Los Angeles Chargers, Other Openings? Coach Addresses Hiring Rumors

FRISCO - One part of the Dan Quinn offseason story is an inevitability: He will take a spin aboard the NFL Coaching Carousel once again as teams with head coaching vacancies will investigate the idea of hiring the highly-regarded defensive coordinator away from the Dallas Cowboys.

But as Quinn has established in his actions over the last two offseasons, another part of this Coaching Carousel is not inevitable: Quinn might not leave.

"If and when that time gets called,'' Quinn said of his candidacy for a move, "I would certainly be ready to discuss that at a moment's notice.''

That, he said on recently here at The Star as he has for three straight years, is about "compartmentalizing'' - about spending off time in the summer, not valuable Cowboys time in December, January and early February - doing research and readying for interviews.

"I think it's important to know how to compartmentalize," Quinn said. "Fortunately for me in that space, any preparation you would do on that is done over the summertime. It's pretty easy these days to compartmentalize.''

And once he and his representatives have that stashed away? Eventually Quinn can deal with the rumors and realities of other situations.

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Already he's been strongly linked to openings with the Carolina Panthers and with the Los Angeles Chargers. And there will be others.

Would Dan Quinn Leave Cowboys for Chargers?

In L.A., there are rumors that the Chargers have created a sort of "Big 3'' list that includes New England legend Bill Belichick and University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Quinn has no reason at this point to offer specific thoughts there - in part because he wants it made clear that all of his thoughts are about working on coach Mike McCarthy's 11-5 Cowboys toward grabbing the opportunity to take the NFC East title with a win on Sunday afternoon at the Commanders. ... and then storming into the playoffs.

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It is exactly the sort of opportunity that fueled his decision to turn down chances to leave in the last two offseasons.

"Quite honestly, the guys that I'm able to coach are a big reason why I wanted to be back here,'' he said of the defensive unit he's helped assemble. "I didn't want to see anybody else coaching these guys, and there was unfinished business in my mind. ... I'm not gonna let that moment miss one second."